Tim Cook ‘couldn’t be happier’ with iPhone 8 launch

Apple CEO Tim Cook paid a visit to the Apple store in Palo Alto this morning to celebrate the launch of the iPhone 8.

Despite seeing modest lines for the device’s launch around the country, Cook told reporters today he’s “thrilled” with the response to both the iPhone 8 and the Apple Watch Series 3. Many stores across the globe have sold out of the new watch and according to Cook, the iPhone 8 is out of stock in some places too.

“I am thrilled,” Cook told CNBC. “Here’s what we’re seeing right now. The watch with LTE — the Series 3 Watch — we are sold out in so many places around the world. And we’re working really hard to meet demand. We’ve sold out of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in some stores, but we’ve got good supply there. You can see what’s going on here this morning — I couldn’t be happier.”

Compared to previous iPhone launches, queues outside of Apple stores around the world have been noticeably shorter this year. That could be partly due to most customers opting to order the device online and have it shipped to their homes. The looming launch of the iPhone X also has caused many customers to wait until that device ships in November.

During his trip to the store, Cook also addressed concerns about LTE connectivity glitches on the Apple Watch Series 3. Early reviewers noted that the device fails to get an LTE signal sometimes. Cook chalked the error up to a software issue and says a quick fix is on the way.

“The issue is very minor, it will be fixed in a software update,” Cook explained. “It has to do with the handoff between Wi-Fi and cellular, and we’ll fix that. It only happens in a rare number of cases. I’ve been using it for quite a while and it works great. So we’re very happy about it.”